Pam Dawber and Mark Harmon from “NCIS” have been happily in love and married since 1987. The couple has had two kids together — Sean Thomas Harmon and Ty Christian Harmon.
Due to their close-knit family and real-life love, when fans saw Dawber pop up on “NCIS” as a guest star, they assumed sparks would fly for Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber On-Screen
As it turns out, romance is nonexistent during her four-episode appearance.
“Trust me, I’ve been answering a lot of questions about that within my own friend group … I was like, no, this is not going to be romantic,” Dawber said to Entertainment Weekly in April.
Dawber had a leading role in sitcoms like “Mork & Mindy” and “My Sister Sam.” Despite a career in television, Dawber hadn’t appeared on “NCIS” until recently. She played an investigative journalist trying to get to the bottom of what happened with Gibbs. He had just gotten thrown off his job for beating up a man who tortures and kills dogs.
No one was giving her character information, so she went to find things out for herself. Before she agreed to the role she wanted to make sure there would be no romance with her husband.
“I talked to the writers and the producers before I signed on and said, ‘If this is a romantic interest, I’m not interested.’ They said not at all, that’s not where we’re going with this,” Dawber said to EW regarding her “NCIS” role.
Marcie was a character she fell in love with. Even Mark Harmon suggested she take on the role of the mysterious investigative journalist. The two powerhouse characters end up really frustrating each other as both try to determine the other’s intentions.
It’s unclear if the character Marcie will ever stop by for a visit again. It’s always possible for her character arc to be worked in again.
‘NCIS’ New Cast Members
Something fans can definitely expect and not have to speculate over is the additions to the investigative team.
After losing the longtime series regular Emily Wickersham, “NCIS” needed to fill in some gaps. Gary Cole and Katrina Law are joining the “NCIS” family.
According to Deadline, Cole will be playing the character FBI Special Agent Alden Park. He will not be replacing Mark Harmon’s character in any way. However, he is anticipated to fill in some blanks while Harmon’s on-screen presence is reduced next season. Harmon may be nearing the end of his time on the popular show.
“We take it year by year with Mark, we’d love to have him as long as he’d like to be here. Even in this past season, he might have been light in a couple of [episodes], so we’re happy to work around his schedule,” CBS President Kelly Kahl said.
As for Katrina Law, she is now a series regular. Fans may recognize her from playing a recurring guest star in the last two episodes of season 18. She plays Special Agent Jessica Knight. Her character specializes in hostage negotiations and is a pro at any and all high-risk operations. Similar to many of the agents, she’s tough and incredibly tenacious.
Harmon, Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, Rocky Carroll, and David McCallum are all returning to “NCIS.”